The sharp political divide between the government and the multifaceted opposition parties regarding the progress, allocation of resources and timetable of the ongoing construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has begun to alarm the Chinese government. The Chinese embassy in Islamabad has urged all the political parties to resolve their differences and create favourable conditions for the completion of the CPEC project. To do so, the statement held that the political parties need to improve their communication and coordination. Furthermore, the Chinese affirmed that they are “ready to work with Pakistanis, to actively promote construction of CPEC projects, and bring tangible benefits to the people of the two countries” since the CPEC was the outcome of consensus between the two countries. The raging controversy over the CPEC understandably worries China since they are set to invest heavily and have engaged with the federal government on a bilateral, state-to-state level. Seeing a house divided in Pakistan is likely to be a cause of concern about the future viability of the project. Given the fact that this crisis and conflict has been brewing for months and has only worsened with no resolution in sight, the optimistic timetables and projected costs regarding the completion of the project can begin to appear tentative at best. To understand why a project that has been recognised and hailed as beneficial to the developmental future of Pakistan with near unanimity by all political stakeholders of Pakistan is causing so much controversy, it is instructive to give a fair hearing to the complaints being raised and determine how the federal government is failing to address those concerns.
At the heart of the controversy surrounding CPEC is the province-biased history of development in Pakistan, with Punjab getting the lion’s share of resources at the expense of the other three provinces. The experience of decades of lopsided development thus feeds the charge that the Nawaz government, with its stronghold in Punjab, is going to manipulate the planning of the CPEC so that the other provinces are frozen out of the benefits gained. The federal government has been trying to dispel this perception but to no avail as the rounds made by Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal have proved so far to be ineffective. In an All Parties Conference (APC) convened by Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) meant to air the grievances regarding CPEC and redevelop political consensus around it, the opposition parties contend that Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, in order to win support of the entire political class of Pakistan, promised on May 28th of last year in an All Parties Conference that developmental work associated with the CPEC in the underdeveloped western half of Pakistan (i.e. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) will be prioritised. However the PM seemingly reneged on this promise when work on the eastern route of CPEC started first. This alarmed the representatives of the two provinces, who now contend that even if the western route is made it will only be a series of roads rather than being a bona fide economic corridor. Concerns about failure to reveal a set timeline and finer details of proposed plans aside, the Baloch representatives are also worried about the status of Gwadar, the end point of the CPEC. There are fears that once the construction is over, the beneficiaries of Gwadar will be outsiders and the influx of non-Baloch people will dramatically alter the demographic makeup of the thinly populated province, putting the locals at a disadvantage politically. Though Ahsan Iqbal tried to quell the fears by stressing how the project is to be completed in 15 years and in multiple phases and that the bulk of the CPEC’s $ 46 billion was allocated to the much needed energy projects that will benefit the country at large, the opposition is not satisfied and wants the PM himself to engage with them and give concrete answers to their concerns. Making matters complicated for the PM and his government, it seems that the Chinese, equally important stakeholders, themselves insisted that work on the eastern corridor begin earlier as they want to see results on projects that can be completed quickly first. The two positions (i.e. efficient result oriented versus historical grievances) seem dangerously irreconcilable. The challenge therefore is for the PM to take the opposition parties into confidence and share the finer details of the project rather than keeping them at arm’s length and hoping that they will oblige. This strategy is demonstrably unworkable and unreasonable. At the same time, the Chinese government should also be kept in the loop about the intricate regional politics of Pakistan. The only way to find a solution to this quandary is if all parties come together and reiterate a mutually acceptable modus operandi. Open and transparent communication, as the Chinese statement suggests, is the only way forward. *